


A Ballad of Hope and Despair

by Secret_Spegsauce



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Blood and Gore, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Hope vs. Despair, M/M, Violence, onesided attractions, unbetad, we go down like junko enoshima
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27690761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secret_Spegsauce/pseuds/Secret_Spegsauce
Summary: It really should've been an easy school year.I never thought I would be accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. Even though they say I'm lucky, I'm rather just average. My classmates are far more impressive than be - I read as much as I could on the forums! Although, if you're watching this now, I've probably died in this game of hope and despair. My name is Sum, I am (or was) the Super High School Level Lucky Student and I am in a killing game.(or in which Pokemon characters are student at Hope's Peak and they need to play the killing game.)
Relationships: Bel | Bianca/Cheren, Dazzle | Keith/Hitomi | Kate, Gladio | Gladion/You | Elio (Pokemon Sun & Moon), Hyuu | Hugh/Kyouhei | Nate, Hyuu | Hugh/Mei | Rosa, Lilie | Lillie & Mizuki | Selene & You | Elio, Mei | Rosa/Tetsu "Tenma" | Curtis "Christoph", Minami | Summer/Natsuya | Ben, X/Y | Yvonne Gabena
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, and enjoy.

“Hope’s Peak Academy… The cultivation of all the world’s hope… The perfect place to plunge the world into despair… Don’t you think?”

.  
.  
.  
DAY 0

The wide screen flashes on. A fuzzy picture begins to reveal itself. Sitting right and center is a pale young boy - no more than 17. His dark hair is greasy in the pale room light - deep bags are under his eyes. It looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks. With a smile and a soft voice, he speaks:  
“If you’re watching this, I’ve probably died. It shouldn’t be too surprising - we all knew I wouldn’t survive long. Or maybe I did, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that from this day on, I’m recording everything. The world needs to see what we’ve been going through. They need to know how it’s really affecting us. They need to remember those of us that won’t make it out of here. Everyday, I’ll record something new. Tell the truth about what’s been happening.  
He sighs, fiddling with his hands. 

“My name is Sun. I was chosen to be the Super High School Level Lucky Student for the 76th class of Hope’s Peak Academy. A pretty dull quote-on-quote title, if I say so myself. I am going to both be writing and verbally sharing what goes on here, see which one actually survives. Heh. Survive… That’s all that we’re trying to do. I’ll start from the beginning and this will take some time. Sit down and relax. Let me tell you about the Mutual Killing Life.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It started when I was chosen to attend Hope’s Peak. It was a raffle set up by the school - apparently whoever won was the Super High School Level Lucky Student. Honestly, I seemed like a real fluke to me. I mean I wasn’t special like my cousin Moon. Moon was asked to join as the Super High School Level Astronomer and it wasn’t a surprise to the family. Everything about Moon was special. Since we were toddlers, she was fascinated by the night sky. She knew every single constellation, the lore beyond them, and she was helping discover new ones everyday. She was the one that won hundreds of awards. A scientific genius, our family called her. Acceptance into Hope’s Peak Academy wasn’t much of a surprise, but we celebrated nonetheless. Mine was the shocker. At least my family was proud, between Moon and myself, our family would be set for generations.

I should’ve known something was off though. It was when I was standing in front of the Hope’s Peak gate, Moon by my side. She was so excited. She’d have access to all the best astronomical equipment money could buy. I remember smiling at her, grabbing her hand, and running inside. We had an opening ceremony to be at afterall. That’s where things start to get foggy.

The next thing I knew, I was in a classroom. I must’ve fallen asleep because I could see the pool of drool when I lifted my head. But something was off. Looking around, the windows were barricaded. I tried knocking on one and it was just pure steel there. I turned bacon to where I’d slept and found a childish pamphlet. Opening it, it looked like my little sister had drawn it. Cute little stick figures were walking into a building, they looked happy. Scrawled at the top was, DON’T MISS THE OPENING CEREMONY!!!! EIGHT O CLOCK SHARP! And then there was a bell toll. Looking up, the clock was striking 8.

“Oh crap I’m late!” I gasped. Leaving the pamphlet on the table, I ran to the center hall. Was it just me or did the lighting in the halls seem weird? And what did that sign mean about hotel? Or what about that red door? Yet, I couldn’t focus on that. I needed to make it to the ceremony. Moon wouldn’t let me live it down if I wasn’t there. Walking into the main hall, there was a crowd of people - my classmates. Moon was there chatting with a bubbly blonde girl and stern looking guy. They seemed to be having fun.

“Moon! There you are! Can’t believe you ditched me.” I said running up to them. Moon turned to me and giggled. “Well I tried waking you up, but you wouldn’t budge! Figured you’d get up sooner or later. Oh! Before I forget,” She gestured to the two people she had been speaking to, “these are two of our classmates!” The blonde girl preened. With amazing speed, she grabbed my hand and started aggressively shaking it. “It is absolutely soooooo nice to meet you! My name’s Bianca, and I’m the Super High School level Cheerleader! This stern guy here is Cheren , Super High School Level Intellect!” She pulled Cheren closer to us, he stumbled.

“Yes, it is nice to meet you. Your cousin speaks fondly of you.” The way he spoke was pretty monotone, like he didn’t want to say anything and that he didn’t really care about what was going on. Moon didn’t seem to care though. She simply smiled and kept speaking, “We’ve been having an amazing discussion about Polaris! You’d probably get lost so go talk to the others - I’m sure you’ll get on with some of them.”

“Trying to get rid of me already?”

“Trying to get you out of the hole you live in.”

Moon pushed me away. She was a little right. I should try to get to know my classmates. I walked up to the next group of people. It was two platinum blondes - one, a girl dressed in all white with a really big floppy hat, and the other, a punk guy who looked like he could kill someone - and a really tan boy with long greenish hair that was tied into a bun.

“Um… Hi it’s nice to meet you, I’m Sun - the Lucky Student.” my voice cracked, to my disappointment. The girl looked at me and smiled, her eyes were a piercing green, she pulled the punk next to her - he had the same green eyes, but they were dark and foreboding instead of bright. With a cheerful voice she spoke, “I’m Lillie, the Super High School Level Fictional Writer and this is my brother, Gladion, the Super High School Level Tattoo Artist! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sun.” Lillie reached her hand out to me. Taking it into my own hand, I noticed how cold she was, but I didn’t think it would be polite to tell her that. When she let go, she elbowed Gladion. He rolled his eyes and put out his hand - they were cold too. 

“Hey! I’m still here too!”, the tan boy remarked. Turning to him, he smiled, lifted his hands behind his head, and spoke boisterously. “The name’s Hau and I’m the Super High School Level Surfer! The pleasure is all mine!”, he beamed.

“It’s nice to meet you too Hau. Sorry for interrupting your conversation.”

“What? That was no problem! There’s plenty of space for us all to chat, right Gladio?”

Hau wrapped his arm around Gladion, who glared. Pushing him away, Gladion spoke in an even tone, “It’s Gladion, not Gladio. Go bother someone else.” Yet, despite Gladion’s words, Hau was unphased. He just laughed and said that was just like him. I thought it was strange that he said that. How could he know what Gladion was like? Then again, Hau just seemed like the person to say that stuff - to act like everyone was his best friend. Speaking of Hau, he was trying to pull Gladion into a hug - to which Gladion was strongly objecting and Lillie was laughing. I decided it would be best to leave them there and meet the others. With a wave goodbye and a chuckle at Hau, I walked to the next three people adamantly speaking to each other.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sun finishes up introductions with the other students.

I really didn’t really know what to expect from the rest of my class. We were really a weird mix of people. Someone was supposedly the Super High School Level Linguist and another was the Super High School Level Casanova - whatever that meant. No matter though. For the next few years, they were my classmates and I needed to get along with them.

I knew the next girl before she even had to say her name. She didn’t look like she would be the Super High School Level Movie Star, with her brown hair in bunned pigtails, sporty clothes, and a visor, but Mei was probably the most famous teenager in the nation. When I got closer, she turned to look at me and her eyes just sparkled. 

“Oh! You must be Sun, the Lucky Student! Moon told us about you. I’m Mei, the Super High School Level Movie Star - although I’m not too sure I deserve such a title.” She smiled shyly. I don’t know why, but I didn’t expect her to be so humbled. I thought the fame would’ve gotten to her head or something. I smiled back, nodding. “It’s very nice to meet you. And I’ve seen your movies - you deserve to be here more than I do.”

She giggled and gestured to the two guys she had been chatting with. Honestly, I’d forgotten they had been there. Mei was incredibly captivating. They both looked seriously intense, with their spikey hair and commanding aura, I was terrified to even speak to them. The one to Mei’s left - I don’t understand why he thought a visor went with a trenchcoat, but whatever - stepped forward with his hand out. 

“I’m Kyouhei, the Super High School Level Secret Agent, although it’s not really a secret.” He spoke very kindly (which was very reassuring) and then he turned to his porcupine companion. “This is Hyuu, the Super High School Level Blacksmith. He doesn’t care to speak much, but he isn’t as scary as he looks.” Hyuu huffed at the agent's introduction, crossing his arms and avoided our gazes. If I looked carefully enough, Hyuu was kind of blushing. Maybe he really isn’t too bad.

“Wow a secret agent, a movie star, and a blacksmith… Sounds like the start of a bad joke.” I laughed.

“Oh I can see it! A secret agent, a movie star, and a blacksmith walk into a bar…” Mei started.  
“The bartender asks…” Kyouhei continued, excitedly.

“ ‘Is this the start of a bad joke?’ “ Hyuu finished quietly.

We all burst out laughing. It was like we had known each other for years instead of minutes… Looking back, we should’ve realized that familiarity… I only spent a minute longer with them. It was refreshing, I could’ve spent hours just hanging out with them. But there were still a few more people I had to speak to.

Oddly enough, the last four people weren’t really speaking to each other. The air around was… tense. You could tell that they would rather be anywhere else than near each other. They were broken off into pairs, whispering amongst each other, and staring at the other pair. Awkwardly, I waved, “Um, hi. I’m Sun, the Super High School Level Lucky Student. It’s nice to meet you three.” They all kind of just stared at me with wide eyes. I’d been in uncomfortable situations before, but this was different.

One girl gave me a little wave, and she pulled the boy she was walking towards me. Her puffball buns bounced as she moved. “Hey Sun, I’m Kate the Super High School Level Journalist and this is Kellyn, the Super High School Level Tailor!” Kate smiled, and she seemed incredibly relieved. Kellyn was bit rattled by the sudden movement, but he smiled at me too. Whatever had been in the air, they were determined to avoid it. Kate pointed to the last two, “Over there are Summer and Ben. They’re the Super High School Level Gardener and Casanova respectively; although, I’m not sure what being a casanova means.” She spoke with much disdain. I was about to ask what she meant when the speaker came on and a high pitched voice squeaked through the static.

“ALL STUDENTS TO GYMNASIUM! IT WOULD BE BEAR-Y UNFORTUNATE IF YOU WERE LATE PUHUHUHUHUHU.”

All conversations stopped in that instance. Glancing at each other, most of us shrugged and began walking to the gym. Whatever was waiting for us there would surely let us know what was going on. I’d been so distracted by the introductions that I’d forgotten to ask anyone about the barricaded windows and the giant seal in the middle of the center hall. Oh crap I probably forgot to mention that earlier… Well, I’ll get back to it in a bit. What matters now is that we lost our last sense of normalcy in that hall, for the gym added more despair to our lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't forget to leave kudos and comments! I love hearing y'alls feedback and it inspires me too write even more!


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students meet Monokuma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in an update - wasn't sure how I wanted to word everything... Enjoy!
> 
> Originally, I had listed there would be no pokemon in this AU but I haven't decided that yet; therefore, you may notice updates that begin to include mentions of Pokemon later and some old chapters maybe edited to include them as well. EX: Monokuma may change from being the black/white bear we know and love(hate) to Monosyun a blue/white cubchoo. Let me know what y'all think about that below!

No one was in the gym. There weren’t even any chairs - just a podium. And some people were very upset about it. Gladion was grumbling in annoyance, Hyuu simply glared at the podium with a fiery passion, and - surprisingly - it was Cheren that made the largest ruckus. “Don’t just call us in here and disappear!,” he yelled, “Come out and tell us what’s going on!” His yells were met with silence. Bianca was doing her best to get him to relax - to little avail. Moon came up to me with concern in her eyes.

“Sun… I don’t think we should be in here.” She said softly. “Something about this place is strange… I don’t think we’re safe.”

“Moon relax… Sure that announcement was weird and it seems like we're kind of barricaded inside the school, but I’m sure someone knows what’s going on, right?” I tried to say optimistically. “I’m the lucky one, you know! Bad things aren’t supposed to happen to lucksters like me!”

I was so incredibly wrong. 

Right when I finished talking, the lights cut out, and a spotlight shined on the podium. A warped version of musical fanfare blasted through the speakers and - while everyone voiced their confusion - out popped a half white, half black teddy bear. One of its eyes glowed a deep red and the black half of its face smiled wide with large pearl fangs. In the same high pitched voice it spoke - and with each word I felt that hairs throughout my body stand on edge - “Hey there, howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let's get things rolling!” the bear smiled wide, its fangs glowing in the spotlight.

“A… teddy bear?” Mei spoke out. The teddy bear growled, “I am NOT a teddy bear. I… am… Monokuma! And I am your headmaster - nice to meet you all!”

It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. This thing - Monokuma - couldn’t be more than a few feet tall, yet (despite the somewhat cute body) he radiated a dangerous energy. “How could a teddy bear be the headmaster?” I asked it. He growled, sharp claws grew from his fuzzy paws. “I am not a teddy bear; I’m Monokuma - I already said that! And while it may be hard to believe that something unbearably cute as I am is your headmaster, it’s true.” Everyone was stunned silent. Looking around, some had their mouths open, some just looked confused, and other annoyed. It didn’t seem to bother Monokuma - he kept talking.

“Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!  
First, let's talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, ah, make no mistake - you few students, so full of potential, represent the hope of the world. And to protect such splendid hope… you will all live a communal life together solely within the confines of this school. Everyone will live in harmony together, and adhere to the rules and regulations of the school. Ah, now then... regarding the end date for this communal life... There isn't one! In other words, you'll all be here until the day you die! Such is the school life you've been assigned.” Monokuma blathered gleefully.

“What do you mean until we die?!” It was Hyuu that shouted. Facing him, I could see the fire that raged in his eyes. Monokuma jumped off the stage, landing right in front of Hyuu. “It means exactly what I say! Haven’t you seen all the metal plates? I installed them all for your safety!” He blushed as he spoke. “And don’t worry about any amenities! We have a plentiful budget that will last us a lifetime!”

Cheren spoke up next, “Please this has to be a lie. You can’t expect us to accept that!”

Monokuma frowned. “Gee I thought you’d all appreciate all the hard work I went through… Now you all think I’m a liar… I’d never do that to any of my students! No matter how loud you scream or how hard you cry, there’s NO leaving the Academy!”

All hell broke loose then. Mei, Lillie, and Bianca were sobbing. Cheren, Hyuu, and Gladion looked like they were about to start throwing hands. Summer, Ben, Kelleyn, and Kate had all the color sucked away from their face. I thought I was about to collapse. I mean, how did this thing expect us to live the rest of our lives here? What about our families? Our friends? Through the chaos, Moon spoke out clear as day: “What if we refuse to live like this? As the Headmaster, you’d want your students to have a choice in the matter, right?’

Everyone stopped to look at her, and Monokuma grinned in the most terrifying kind of way. “There IS a way to get out.”, he said ominously.

“How?” Moon asked.

“You decided of your own free will to attend Hope's Peak Academy, didn't you? And now, before the entrance ceremony is even finished, you've already decided you want to leave? There *is* one way for you to leave the school… As headmaster, I've crafted a special clause for those of you who would like to leave! I call it... the Graduation Clause! Now, let me tell you about this fun little rule. As I mentioned, in order to maintain an environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And if someone were to disrupt that harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school. That, my students, is the Graduation Clause!”

“And what do you mean by "disrupt the harmony"?”

“Puhuhu... Well, you know… If one person were to murder another.”

“M-murder?” I could see the tears forming in Moon’s eyes.

“Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, crushing, hacking, drowning, igniting, how you do it doesn't matter.You must kill someone if you want to leave. It's as simple as that. The rest is up to you. Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible. Puhuhu. I bet *that* got your brain juices flowing! Beats the heck out of a human catching a salmon, huh? Like I said before, you guys are the hope of the world. But you know… Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair. And I just find that so... darn... exciting!”

Monokuma just couldn’t help but go on and on about us killing each other while we were all too stunned to speak. We’re just high school students… We didn’t decide to come to school to die, you know? We were supposed to be safe here.

“Like hell am I gonna take this.” Hyuu stepped forward. “Despair? Killing each other? That’s all bullshit.” He grabbed Monokuma by the arm, pulling him close, “We are not going to stand for it.”

“Violence against the Headmaster is strictly prohibited!” Monokuma cried.  
“Let him go and everyone back away!” Kyohei screeched and, although surprised, Hyuu (and the rest of us) did as told. Barely even a few seconds later, the bear exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to comment and kudos! I love hearing all your thoughts and theories about the story!
> 
> Tumblr: secretspegsaucysauce


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